Free Xmas lunch for thousands in Sydney

More than 120 hams and turkeys are set to feed around 3000 people at a free Christmas Day lunch for the poor, the lonely and the needy in Sydney's inner west.

The Exodus Foundation's Reverend Bill Crews said that before midday (AEDT) there was already a queue stretching onto Liverpool Road at Ashfield for the lunch.

He said it was the foundation's 27th free Christmas Day lunch and each year the number of people turning up increased.

"With the cost of living as high as it is I'm not surprised that today's turnout is high," Rev Crews said.

"Just because you're lonely or you can't afford Christmas doesn't mean you have to go without," he said.

Rev Crews said the annual lunch began with a plate of sandwiches and two lonely people 27 years ago, had grown to feed more than 400 people within four years and this year was set to be the biggest yet.

Guests were set to eat their way through more than 65 hams, 55 turkeys, 540kg of baked vegetables, 220 litres of gravy and 330 litres of custard.

Meanwhile, at Eveleigh in inner Sydney the Salvation Army's Streetlevel Mission expects to feed around 1500 people in its 16th year of operation.

The Salvation Army's Robyn Evans said more than 150 volunteers had given part of their day to help bring hope to the lonely, the homeless and the disadvantaged.

Every child and teenager attending was to get a bag of Christmas gifts from Santa.

At King's Cross, the Wayside Chapel was holding its annual Christmas Day Street Party with dancing, singing and a sit-down lunch for more than 600 guests, and with several hundred others also expected to be fed.